May 6, 2021
On this episode of the Resistance Library Podcast, Sam and Dave
talk about John Moses and the forgotten history and legacy of the
father of modern firearms. John Moses Browning is known to firearms
and Second Amendment enthusiasts primarily as a gunsmith, but he
was more than that: He was also an inventor, an innovator, and
perhaps one of the most successful firearm designers the world has
ever seen. It’s without question that he is the father of modern
firearms as we know them. John Browning is arguably the man most
responsible for modern firearms, including lever-action,
pump-action, and auto-loading weapons.
Browning was born into a Mormon settler family in Ogden, Utah, on
January 23, 1855. His parents, Jonathan Browning and Elizabeth
Clark, were Mormons who settled in Utah after the Mormon Exodus of
1847. A gunsmith himself, Jonathan often had young John in the shop
alongside him, where the child learned concepts of manufacturing
and engineering. The elder Browning also encouraged
experimentation. By the age of 11, John had created his first
firearm from castaway pieces and took it hunting, providing his
family with three prairie chickens for the family’s dinner. By the
time he was 18, John Browning had taken over his father’s
business.
In the spring of 1879, John married Rachel Teresa Child, who would
eventually bear John 10 children, eight of whom survived infancy.
On October 7th of that same year, John received the first of his
128 firearm patents, this one for the Browning Single Shot
rifle.
In 1880, John recruited his brothers and built what would become
known as the Browning Arms Company. Although the business was
successful, John was not satisfied. Rather than mass-producing
firearms for commercial sale, Browning wanted to revolutionize the
entire small arms industry.
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